The Vertex Scott Henderson Signature Volume Pedal is a volume pedal named for guitarist Scott Henderson, built around a specific job: controlling volume for low impedance signals. Vertex describes it as "the most transparent volume pedal available for low impedance signals from your buffered pedalboard/rack or amp effects loop," which tells you where it belongs in a rig: after a buffer, not straight after a guitar's pickups.1
What it does and where it goes
Volume pedals are not all interchangeable. A pedal meant for a guitar's high impedance pickup signal behaves differently when it is fed by a buffer or an effects loop, and the reverse is true as well. This pedal is designed for low impedance signals, the kind you get from a buffered pedalboard, a rack system or an amp effects loop, and Vertex positions it as the most transparent option in that setting.1
Because the design is 100% passive, it needs no power supply, no battery and no current draw. That also means it adds nothing to the signal: it only attenuates what is already there.1
The circuit
Vertex's modification takes the Boss FV-500 volume pedal circuit and simplifies it "to the fewest components."1 Fewer components in the signal path is the maker's stated route to transparency, since each part a signal passes through is a chance for tone to change. Players comparing this pedal with other low impedance designs such as the Ernie Ball VPJR, the Lehle Mono Volume or Xotic's low impedance model are comparing different answers to the same question of how a passive pedal behaves after a buffer. For a broader look at the category, see Volume Pedals.
The pedal is a modified Boss FV-500 circuit, not a stock FV-500. If you are comparing it with Boss's own FV-500H or FV-500L, the difference is Vertex's simplification of that circuit.1
Buying and support
Vertex backs the pedal with a lifetime warranty and a 30-day money back guarantee return policy, and each unit is modified in California.1
Videos
Vertex Effects
Questions
Where should the Vertex Scott Henderson Signature Volume Pedal go in a signal chain?
Vertex designed it for low impedance signals, meaning it is meant to sit after a buffer, such as a buffered pedalboard, a rack system or an amp effects loop. In that position, the maker describes it as the most transparent volume pedal available for low impedance signals. It is a 100% passive design, so it needs no power.
Does the Vertex Scott Henderson Signature Volume Pedal need power?
No. Vertex describes the pedal as a 100% passive design, so there is no power requirement to consider and no battery or adapter involved. The circuit is a simplified version of the Boss FV-500 volume pedal circuit, reduced to the fewest components, and it is modified in California.
Sources (1)
- Scott Henderson Volume Pedal, vertexeffects.com
Scott Henderson
